Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study
Quantitative parameters characterizing the sea ice surface topography are needed in geophysical investigations such as studies on atmosphere–ice interactions or sea ice mechanics. Recently, the use of space-borne single-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) for retrieving the ice sur...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:beba25959e9445a6be3edf483ddad971 2023-05-15T18:17:11+02:00 Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study W. Dierking O. Lang T. Busche 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1967-2017 https://doaj.org/article/beba25959e9445a6be3edf483ddad971 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/1967/2017/tc-11-1967-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-11-1967-2017 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/beba25959e9445a6be3edf483ddad971 The Cryosphere, Vol 11, Pp 1967-1985 (2017) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1967-2017 2022-12-31T06:15:11Z Quantitative parameters characterizing the sea ice surface topography are needed in geophysical investigations such as studies on atmosphere–ice interactions or sea ice mechanics. Recently, the use of space-borne single-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) for retrieving the ice surface topography has attracted notice among geophysicists. In this paper the potential of InSAR measurements is examined for several satellite configurations and radar frequencies, considering statistics of heights and widths of ice ridges as well as possible magnitudes of ice drift. It is shown that, theoretically, surface height variations can be retrieved with relative errors ≤ 0.5 m. In practice, however, the sea ice drift and open water leads may contribute significantly to the measured interferometric phase. Another essential factor is the dependence of the achievable interferometric baseline on the satellite orbit configurations. Possibilities to assess the influence of different factors on the measurement accuracy are demonstrated: signal-to-noise ratio, presence of a snow layer, and the penetration depth into the ice. Practical examples of sea surface height retrievals from bistatic SAR images collected during the TanDEM-X Science Phase are presented. Article in Journal/Newspaper Sea ice The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 11 4 1967 1985 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 W. Dierking O. Lang T. Busche Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Quantitative parameters characterizing the sea ice surface topography are needed in geophysical investigations such as studies on atmosphere–ice interactions or sea ice mechanics. Recently, the use of space-borne single-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) for retrieving the ice surface topography has attracted notice among geophysicists. In this paper the potential of InSAR measurements is examined for several satellite configurations and radar frequencies, considering statistics of heights and widths of ice ridges as well as possible magnitudes of ice drift. It is shown that, theoretically, surface height variations can be retrieved with relative errors ≤ 0.5 m. In practice, however, the sea ice drift and open water leads may contribute significantly to the measured interferometric phase. Another essential factor is the dependence of the achievable interferometric baseline on the satellite orbit configurations. Possibilities to assess the influence of different factors on the measurement accuracy are demonstrated: signal-to-noise ratio, presence of a snow layer, and the penetration depth into the ice. Practical examples of sea surface height retrievals from bistatic SAR images collected during the TanDEM-X Science Phase are presented. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
W. Dierking O. Lang T. Busche |
author_facet |
W. Dierking O. Lang T. Busche |
author_sort |
W. Dierking |
title |
Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study |
title_short |
Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study |
title_full |
Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study |
title_fullStr |
Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: a feasibility study |
title_sort |
sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite insar measurements: a feasibility study |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1967-2017 https://doaj.org/article/beba25959e9445a6be3edf483ddad971 |
genre |
Sea ice The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Sea ice The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 11, Pp 1967-1985 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/1967/2017/tc-11-1967-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-11-1967-2017 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/beba25959e9445a6be3edf483ddad971 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1967-2017 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1967 |
op_container_end_page |
1985 |
_version_ |
1766191274390454272 |